Bamboo Bike

Now this would be a cool thing if the price range drops some.

Bamboo 29er

Vibram Fivefingers

I recently purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFinger Sprints. After a dozen hikes I feel like I have enough of an opinion to review them properly. I'll just give a list of pros and cons.

Cons

1. Things hurt that poke in your feet! It takes a while to get used to the fact that you aren't wearing heavy boots when hiking.

2. Debris can come into the shoe from the top. Mostly things like sand and stuff but sometimes rocks can work their way in. It's only a little annoying because you have to stop and empty them periodically. By periodically I mean on a 10 mile hike maybe once.

3. Your feet will be sore. Weirdly, not on the bottoms. At least not in my case. It's the tops that get sore from actually using your muscles and tendons up there. They are used to being folded and smashed together while locked in place when you are walking.


Pros

1. Things hurt that poke in your feet! Why is this also a pro? Because it forces you to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings. No more "powering" thru the woods. Now you are walking IN the woods. I always walk slowly but these enforce that pace. So if you are into hiking to get it done as fast as possible (and wtf would you be hiking for then) then they are not for you.
2. Somewhat related to #1 is the fact that you can feel the terrain you are walking. The only analogy I can think of is wearing thick rubber gloves to touch something and then wearing thin tactile gloves. The difference is amazing.

3. You have monkey toes. Use them. Walking up hills, down hills, etc. you can curl your feet to grip things. This is not a conscious thing its just something I notice happening naturally. Once again, if you are a person with pussy feet who likes to wear "manly" boots this may freak you out at first.

Overall so far I love them. Many of the cons are only cons when you first start. After that it's second nature to look where you are stepping when in doubtful terrain. #2 should be taken care of by a new FiveFinger coming out soon. The KSO. Reviewed here in two parts. Remember also that most of the "trails" I'm walking are really mountain bike trails. Rocky and rooty terrain that's perfect for bikes but not a smooth walkable surface. I love going on them but the Sprints really shine on the smooth doubletrack portions. If you walk in terrain like that your experience will probably be even more positive than mine.

Brick Saturday

WOD: Double Thomson - 11 miles - 95 min.

Stock Market Woes

WOD: HP Green Tara Yoga

Keith's recommendations for the stock market: Buy! Buy! Buy!

The stock market is having a 20% off sale on all American companies. Notify your blow-all-the-money, debt-ridden, sale happy spouse and BUY!

Remember, if you follow the herd and sell you will walk, talk and look like a cow. A foolish cow too.

Four Hour Workweek?

Workout of the Day: upper body weights - 50 min.

I must get a copy of this book.

May 28

Workout of the Day: lower body weights - 50 min.

Working Athlete Periodization

Workout of the Day: Ashtanga - 45 min.


This is IMO a great periodization plan for someone like me trying to juggle training and the realities of family life. Interestingly, it's fairly close to what I really do but just not defined as explicitly as he does. Also, he likes finance and training! What more could you ask for from a blog?

Working Athlete Periodization

and his website

Personal Triathlon Coaching

May 24

Workout of the Day: Upper body weights - 45 min.

May 23

Workout of the Day: Walk - 60 min.

May 22

Workout of the Day: Lower body weights - 45 min.

May 21

Workout of the Day: Ashtanga Yoga - 45 min.

May 14

Workout of the Day:
AM: Lower body weights - 50 min.
PM: Swim - 1000m

May 12

Workout of the Day: Ashtanga - 45 min.

May 10

Workout of the Day:
AM: Hike - 45 min..
PM: Swim - 1000m

May 7

Workout of the Day: Swim - 45 min.

May 5

Workout of the Day: Brick60 - Bike 39 min. / Run 21 Min.

May 4

Workout of the Day:
AM: Yoga - 50 min.
PM: Swim - 45 min.

Cantrell Center 1

Workout of the Day: Hike - 65 min.

I went and joined the Cantrell Center last night. I will write a longer post about it but I was blown away at what they have/offer there.

May 2

Workout of the Day: Upper body weights - 50 min.

My workouts have really sucked for the last 2 days. In trying to figure out why I realized it's been 6 days since I took my claritin-d. I ran out and just have forgotten to buy anymore. I'm pretty sure I would operate at a much reduced level if I didn't take it on a regular basis. I hate pills. I feel that I should be able to "naturally" take care of most things but it seems my allergies only respond to 2 things favorably. The neti pot and claritin-d. And I've been slacking on the neti pot. It's just so aggravating to do it even twice weekly. I wish I was more favorable to drugs. I could just pop some anti-depressants instead of working out and hit some fen-phen instead of a protein shake for breakfast. That would be sweet......except it wouldn't solve anything.

May 1

Workout of the Day: Yoga - 50 min.